Cut-off mechanism for sheet material.



Patented Mar. 21, 1916. Q

INVENTOR fianucelflllmz/gaiow ATTORNEY S. M. LANGSTON. CUT-OFF MEQHANlSM FOR SHEET MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 1! I915.

SAMUEL M. LANGSTON, OF WENONAH, NEW JERSEY.

CUT-OFF MECHANISM FOR SHEET MATERIAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

Original application filed September 13, 1915, Serial No. 50,336. Divided and this application filed December To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL M. LANG-I STON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Wenonah, in the county of Glouces ter and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cut-Off Mechanisms for Sheet Material, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in cut-01f mechanism and more particularly to mechanism adapted to operate upon comparatively stiff material such for instance as double faced corrugated paper.

In my prior and parent application Serial No. 50,336, filed September 13, 1915, and of which application this is a division, I have illustrated certain embodiments of my broad invention whereby I am able to slit a sheet of stiff material, such as double faced corrugated paper, into strips of any desired width and sub-divide each of the strips into sections, the length of the sections formed from one strip being independent of the length of the sections formed from any other strip.

My present invention involves mechanism for securing this result and in which one of the two coacting members of at least the first cut-off mechanism, and preferably of all of the cut-off mechanisms, is so mounted that it may be adjusted endwise to such a position that it will come opposite to and act upon less than the total width of the sheet. By adjusting one of the two members, such for instance as the normally stationary member or knife, to such a position that the end of its operating face or surface comes opposite a slit in the paper, only the portion of the sheet at one side of the slit will be operated upon by that cutter. Thus, the separate strips may be cut up into lengths independent of the length of the sections into which any other strip is subdivided and all of the cutting operations may take place in the same plane and without deflecting the sheet or any portion of it to any appreciable extent from the plane of delivery.

In the accompanying drawings, I have illustrated one form which my invention may assume, but it will be evident that other forms may be designed within the spirit of my invention and without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

In these drawings, to which reference is to be had and in which similar reference Serial No. 64,409.

characters indicate corresponding parts in the two views, Figure l is a top plan view of a machine embodying my invention, portions being broken away, and Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof.

In the form illustrated, I have shown a delivery mechanism 10 which may be either a part of the machine for making the double-faced corrugated paper, or a mecha' nism receiving the paper from the machine and delivering it to the cut-off mechanism. The delivery mechanism is illustrated as including two belts having superposed parallel runs for engaging with opposite sides of the sheet A and advancing the latter.

Beyond the delivery mechanism, I mount suitable slitting mechanism for sub-dividing the sheet into a plurality of separate strips. This slitting mechanism may be of any suitable character, such, for instance, as rotary overlapped cutters 11 and 12 mounted on parallel shafts. The cutters may be adjusted lengthwise of the shafts to vary the relative widths of the strips and any desired number of cutters may be employed for subdividing the sheet into a large number of strips.

Merely for purposes of illustration, I have shown a single pair of slitters sub-dividing the sheet into strips B and C and have illustrated said slitters as being driven by a pair of intermeshing pinions, one of which meshes with a gear on the shaft of one of the drums of the delivery mechanism.

I do not desire to be limited to any particular kind of slitting mechanism or any particular method of driving or operating the same as any corresponding parts known in the trade may be employed.

Mounted beyond the slitter, I provide a plurality of independently governable cutoff mechanisms operating in substantially the same plane as the plane of delivery of the sheet A. Each transverse cutting mechanism is illustrated as including a base 13 supporting two cooperating relatively movable members such as a normally stationary knife 14 and a movable knife 15, the relative movement producing the cutting operation. Each blade is of a length equal to the full width of the sheet so that the sheet may be cut all the way across by either cut-ofl' mechanism.

The movable knives 15 may be operated in any suitable manner and may be of any desired character. Preferably, they are carried by shafts 16 and are mounted to rotate so as to coact with the stationary cutter once during each revolution. The driving mechanism is such that the speed" and movement of each movable knife may be Varied in respect to the speed of the other knife or knives and in respect to the rate of delivery of the sheet from the mechanism 10.

I have illustrated two cut-0E mechanisms, each driven by a belt 17 which receives its power from the delivery mechanism or from some source of power connected to the latter so that the speed of the cutters may be directly dependent upon the speed of delivery of the material. The mechanism for transmitting power to each rotary cutter includes some form of speed varying device which may be of any well known character. I have illustrated rather conventionally one form of such mechanism which includes a friction disk 18 and a friction wheel 19 adjustable along the face of the disk toward and from the center to vary the speed of the driving belt 17. This form of mechanism will operate to rotate the cutters continuously, but permit the speed of either cutter to be varied in respect to the other and the speed of both to be varied in respect to the rate of delivery of the material.

In actual practice, I prefer to use a cutter controlling mechanism which permits the movable cutter to remain stationary until the controlling mechanism comes into play to give the cutter a single revolution. The controlling mechanisms of the different cutters may be adjusted to operate them at different frequencies and may include trip mechanism operated by the material itself. Such a mechanism is illustrated in my co-pending a plication Serial No. 58,174, filed October 2 th, 1915, but forms no portion of my present invention and therefore has not been here illustrated.- I

One of the two cooperating members of at least the first cut-off mechanism is adjustable endwise so as to be capable of assuming a position beneath only a portion of the Width of the sheet. As illustrated, each stationary knife 14 has a supporting portion 20 mounted in a dove-tailed groove in the base 13. The movable knives 15 extend the full width of the sheet and the stationary knives are preferably each of the same length as the movable knife. With two cut-off mechanisms in operation, one stationary knife 14 may be moved out endwise so that it lies beneath one strip of the sheet and terminates at the slit between the strips while the other stationary knife extends out endwise in the opposite direction and also terminates at the slit. In some machines, I might arrange the movable knife so as to permit of its endwise adjustment instead of adjusting the stationary knife, but the arrangement illustrated is simpler and preferable. If the sheet be slitted into three strips, the outer strip on one side might be cut off by the first cut-off mechanism, the other strip by the next cut-off mechanism, and the center strip by a third cutofi' mechanism in which the knives need not be endwise adjustable. Other arrangements might be readily made for a larger number of strips.

The sheet -A as it leaves the feeding mechanism is slitted into separate strips, the width of at least one of which is regulated in accordance with the width of the final product, and the two or more separate strips are delivered in approximately the same plane to the first cut-off mechanism. The strip C passes directly through the first cutoff mechanism without being sub-divided, but is not deflected out of its plane to any appreciable extent if at all.

By proper regulation of the machine, the separate strips may be made of different widths in accordance with the dimensions of different desired products and each strip may be sub-divided into sections, the length of the sections of one strip being independent of those of the other. The separate sections of the strip B, if they are comparatively short, may be received by any suitable mechanism between the two cut-off mechanisms and conveyed laterally or stacked up, or merely permitted to fall to the floor. If the sections are longer than the distance between the cut-off mechanisms, the sections of the strip B may pass the end of the stationary knife 14 of the second cut-off mechanism and will not be acted on by the rotary cutter disposed above.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for sub-dividing comparatively stiff sheet material, including sheet delivering mechanism, slitting mechanism for sub-dividing the sheet lengthwise, and cut-off mechanism including two cooperating, relatively movable members, one of said members being adjustable endwise so as to act upon and sub-divide one strip of said sheet transversely and permit the passage of another strip in approximately the same plane.

2.' A machine for sub-dividing comparatively stiff sheet material, including sheet deliverin mechanism, slitting mechanism for sub-dividing the sheet lengthwise, and a cut-off mechanism including a normally stadelivering mechanism, slitting mechanism for sub-dividing the sheet lengthwise, and a cut-ofi' member adjustable endwise to act on and sub-divide one strip transversely, and permit the free passage of another strip.

4. A machine for sub-dividing compara tively stifi' sheet material, including sheet delivering mechanism, slitting mechanism for sub-dlviding the sheet lengthwise, and a plurality of cut-ofi' mechanisms arranged in succession beyond said slitting mechanism and each including a normally stationary, longitudinally adjustable member arranged to operate on only one strip and permit the passage of another strip in approximately the same plane, and a movable knife cooperating with the stationary member.

5. A machine of the class described, including means for delivering a plurality of strips of comparatively stiff sheet material in approximately the same plane, two cut-ofi mechanisms operable in the same plane and arranged in succession, one includingamember longitudinally adjustable in one direction to a position opposite one strip and the other including a member longitudinally adjustable in the opposite direction to a position opposite said second strip, and means for independently controlling said cut-oil mechanism to sub-divide the separate strips into sections of difi'erent lengths.

6. A machine of the class described, including means for deliverin a plurality of strips of comparatively sti sheet material in approximately the same plane, and a cutoff mechanism including a comparatively narrow stationar knife, of a length sub stantially equal to the width of said sheet and endwise adjustable to a position beneath only one of said strips, and a movable knife cooperating therewith.

7. A machine of the class described including a stationary base and a pair of coacting knives carried thereby, one of said knives being endwise adjustable in respect to the other.

8. A machine of the class described, including a base, and a pair of co-acting knives carried thereby, one of said knives being stationary and the other movable toward and from the same, and one of said knives being adjustable endwise in respect to the other.

Signed at New York city, in the county of New York, and State of New York this 19th day of November, A. D. 1915.

SAMUEL M. LANGSTON. 

